Well trap for refrigerator cars



Aug. 30, 1949. w. H. KELEHER ET AL 2,480,430

WELL TRAP FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Nov. 27,, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS W.,H-KE1 Eh Er,

R-E-Puwers A 1949- w. KELEHER ET'AL v2,480,480

WELL TRAP FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Nov. 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS W H K21 EH51, R-E-Puwers, By C Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNITED STATES ATEENT OFFICE;

WELL TRAP FOB, REFRIGERATOR CARS Application November 27, 1946, Serial No.- 712,590

2 Claims. 1 This invention relates to well traps for refrigerator. cars of that type equipped with ice bunkers for refrigeratingthe commodities shipped by the melting of water ice in the bunkers, and in which the drippage-water from each bunker'falls into areceiving pan located under the bunker and istrapped by 'aninteriorly or exteriorly arranged openable and closable trapnvhich trap in its closed position forms a water seal allowing the collected drip water to be discharged while preventing the entrance of outside warm air. More particularly the invention relates to improvements in a well trap of-the outside type-and comprising a hinged drip bucket or receptacle cooperating Witha drain-tube leading from the drip pan and forming-therewith in its closed position a water seal of the character described.-

Heretofore-external drip buckets of the hinged type commonly used have employed weighted counterbalances to bring them back from open to 4 normal or closed position, and to hold'them in such position to maintain thewaterseal. In the open or downward position the bucket allows cleaning of the tube extending up into the car and its drip pan. Both the tubeand the bucket require occasional cleaning because of the accumulation of foreign matter incidental to=icing and to the undissolved salt used to secure low temperatures. The salt;- which is used-in percentages up .to 30%, tends toform a hard concrete-like deposit if not removed periodically. Outside drip buckets cooperating with drain tubes. but which are adapted to be .manuallyclosed and. are held by latching devices in closed positionhave also been very commonly used.

The disadvantages of a counterweight closing means are its added weight and the fact that-this type of bucket has a tendency -,to open-and close under the vibrations of the car in motion, andto cause wear on the fulcrumpins, loss of the seal, and,. insomecases, resulting in the wearing through of the fulcrum pins and loss of the bucket and counterweight. The latched type of outside drip bucket, through negligence, may be 1 left in the unlatched position, inwhich case it hangsdown, afiords no Water SeaL-and increases ice meltage-and possible ladingspoilage due to improper refrigeration.

Refrigerator cars are operated during both the winter and summer seasons. In the summer they require refrigeration by meansof ice, and in the winter they require heater service. Byheater service is -meant the-introduction of charcoal =heaters in the bunkers-to maintain the .loads above-freezing or at thetemperature required. Ihis mea-ns that whenever cars are in heater service, all four driptubes or drain tubesassociated with the respective bunkers must betemporarily plugged with waddings of waste, orhairfelt insulation, or similar materials to prevent heat losses through the tubes. To plug the tubes, it is customary to completely stop them up with the above mentioned material fromtopto'bottemperaturesheld within a few degrees of a required optimum. During these. seasons of the year, cars-maybezchanged en route acrossthe country-fromrheaterto ice service and vice versa. This meansconsiderable loss of time in. plugging andunplugging tank drain tubes.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an external hinged type trap structure which overcomes these objectionsto' prior traps-of the character referred -to and which embodies means for automatically and positively closing and holdingthe-trap securely closed against car vibration so as to always maintain the seal and prevent wearand tear upon and the possible loss of .trap parts.

A furtherobjectof the invention is to provide a novel construction of trap closing means for the purpose described andadapted topermitiof the use of.a readily applicablepacking for heater service, which is also readily removable for a quick and easy change froman icing to heater service; and viee-versa.

With these and other objects in View, which will appear in the course of the subjoined-description; the-invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrange.-

ment of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and asshown in the accompanying drawingain .whichz;

r Fig. 1 is a vertical'section through a portion of the bottom of a refrigerator car equipped-with a well trapembodyingthe invention; the-trap bucket appearing in section and in closed .or sealin gpositionr r Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the bucket depressed to open position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the car bottom taken at right angles to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and looking toward the handle end of the bucket.

Fig. 4 is a view of the bucket closing device with its cylinder or casing appearing in section to disclose its internal parts.

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through the bucket.

Fig. 6 is a View of parts appearing in Fig. l and illustrating the use of a packing for heater service.

Referring now more particularly to the'drawings, I designates the insulated floor structure of a refrigerator car of the character described, and 2 designates the bottom of a tank or drip pan into which the drippage water from the melting ice is received and from which it discharges through a drain tube 3 projecting downward spring 2!. This spring is of suflicient strength and normally under suflicient compression to close the bucket and hold it closed against vibrations and all other disturbing forces in the running of the car, so that when the trap is sealed the seal will be preserved even under rough traveling conditions. The bucket, however, may be forced open by downward pressure on the handle 8 to allow the bucket to be drained and the therefrom through the bottom of the car and through a bracket or seat plate 4 secured thereto. The well trap, in the form of a drip bucket or receptacle 5, is arranged for cooperation with be forced downwardly to open position and controlled or regulated, if desired, in its automatic movement upward to closed position. When closed, the upper marginal edge of the bucket seats against the plate 4 and the lower end of the tube 3 depends into the bucket to a point above the bottom of the bucket and below the water level line at, so that normally, and with water contained in the bucket up to the water line level, a seal is formed which prevents the entrance of warm outside air through the tube into the car. An overflow pipe 9 is provided at one side of the bucket for the escape of drip water through an orifice 9 whenever it rises above the water line level.

The means for automatically closing the trap bucket and positively holding it closed comprises a closing device Iii embodying spring means normallyunder compression to support and resist opening movement of the bucket and to exert suflicient force to close the door and hold it closed As shown, this device against car vibrations. ID comprises a casing or cylinder closed by'end caps H and 12. One end of a plunger rod 13 slidably extends into the cylinder through the cap H and the other end of this rod is provided with a hingle knuckle I4 pivotally connected by a fulcrum pin 15 with hinge knuckles 16 projecting from the bottom of the bucket near the pivoted end of the latter. The cap I2 is provided with a hinge knuckle i1 pivoted by a fulcrum pin It to hinge knuckles 19 on a bracket plate [9 fixed to the car bottom. The parts of the closing device above described are thus mounted to swing upward and downward with the bucket and the plunger rod to telescopically slide in the cylinder. On a portion of the rod located in the cylinder adjacent the head H is fitted an abutment head or washer 20 and arranged within the cylinder about the inner end of the rod and between the cap (2 and the head 26 is a coiled bucket and draintube to be cleaned whenever ccasion requires, in which operation the spring of the telescopic-link closing device is additionally compressed for bucket closing reaction. The head 29 may be integral with the rod or formed independently of and fixed to or adjustably mounted on the rod, as desired. In the present instance, it is shown as having a plurality of openings 22 with any one of which the pin may be engaged to adjustably secure the pin and head to vary the working compression of the spring within desired limits. Other means for securing the same result may, however, be employed.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that the bucket will always be held closed to maintain the seal until it is intentionally forced open for cleaning or other purposes, and that a trap is thus provided which is free from the stated objections to counterweight-closed and manuallyclosed and latched traps.

As shown, the device It) extends at an angle downwardly between the bottom of the car and the bottom of the bucket and forms a direct, swinging-linkconnection therebetween in which the plunger [3 is slidable outwardly from the cylinder under the expansive force of the spring 2| to normally hold the bucket 5 closed or in sealing position with relation to the outlet 9. By this arrangement a resistance to upward swinging movement of the device l0, supplemental to F that of the resistance of the spring 2|, is established to positively hold the bucket in sealing position against shocks or vibrations in car travel tending to force the bucket downward and break the seal, so that the bucket will at all times be held in sealing position until it is forced downward by operation of the handle 8.

With this novel construction of trap it is not necessary to completely plug the drain tube in a changeover from an icing to a heater operation. On the contrary, since the trap is pressure closed, it is only necessary to dispose a sealing pad 24 of wadding of requisite thickness in the bucket, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the pressure of the closing device on the closed bucket will hold the pad clamped against the lower end of the drain tube in such manner that the wadding will be forced into and about the tube to make an airtight seal. This pad may be removed in a ready, quick and convenient manner by simply swinging the bucket open and withdrawing the pad in making a changeover from a heater to an icing operation again, thus avoiding the troubles and delays encountered in ordinary practice when Wadding operations are necessary.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the construction, mode of operation and advantages of our improved well trap will be readily understood and appreciated by those versed in the art without a further and extended description. It will, of course, be understood that the construction disclosed is exemplificative', and that changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts, falling within the scope of the appended claims, may be made without departing from the spirit or Sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a well-trap for refrigerator cars, the combination with a refrigerator car having an :icewater drain-outlet projecting outward through its bottom, of a drip-bucket hinged at one side adjacent the top thereof to the bottom of the car to swing upwardly and downwardly into and out of water receiving and sealing cooperation with the outlet, a handle attached to the bucket and projecting therefrom beyond the opposite side thereof whereby the bucket may be swung downward to water-discharging position, and a bucketclosing device extending at an angle downwardly between the bottom of the car and the bottom of the bucket and forming a direct telescopic, swinging-link-connection therebetween, said device comprising a cylinder having an opening at one end and closed at its opposite end and pivoted at the latter-named end to the car bottom, a plunger slidably mounted at one end in the cylinder and extending outwardly through the opening at the first-named end of the cylinder and pivoted at its opposite end to the bottom of the bucket adjacent the hinged side of the bucket, and a coiled spring in the cylinder arranged to bear respectively on the plunger and cylinder and exerting pressure thereon to normally hold the telescopic link extended and the bucket in sealing engagement with the outlet.

2. In a well-trap for refrigerator cars, the combination with a refrigerator car having an icewater drain-outlet projecting outwardly through its bottom, of a drip-bucket hinged at one side adjacent the top thereof to the bottom of the car to swing upwardly and downwardly into and out of water receiving and sealing cooperation with the outlet, a handle attached to the bucket and projecting therefrom beyond the opposite side thereof whereby the bucket may be swung downward to water-discharging position, and a bucketclosing device extending at an angle downwardly between the bottom of the car and the bottom of the bucket and forming a direct telescopic, swinging-link-connection therebetween, said device comprising a cylinder having an opening at one end and closed at its opposite end and pivoted at the latter-named end to the car bottom, a plunger slidably mounted at one end in the cylinder and extending outwardly through the opening at the first-named end of the cylinder and pivoted at its opposite end to the bottom of the bucket adjacent the hinged side of the bucket, an abutment-head adjustably mounted on the plunger within the cylinder, means for securing the same in a plurality of adjusted positions, and a coiled spring in the cylinder arranged to bear at one end on the closed end of the cylinder and disposed at its opposite end about the plunger and bearing on the abutment-head and exerting pressure on said cylinder end and abutment-head to normally hold the telescopic link extended and the bucket in sealing engagement with the outlet.

WILLIAM H. KELEHER. RICHARD E. POWERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

